Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

Risks Involved With Transgenic Fish

Date:

September 1, 2009

Source:

University of Gothenburg

Summary:

Fast growing transgenic fish can revolutionize commercial fish farming and relieve the pressure on overexploited fish stocks. But what happens in the natural environment if transgenic fish escape? Researchers in Sweden have studied transgenic fish on behalf of the European Union and are urging caution.

Fast growing transgenic fish can revolutionise commercial fish farming and relieve the pressure on overexploited fish stocks. But what happens in the natural environment if transgenic fish escape? Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have studied transgenic fish on behalf of the EU and are urging caution:

Related Articles

"Until further notice transgenic fish should be bred in closed systems on land," says Fredrik Sundström at the Department of Zoology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

By furnishing fish with genes from other organisms, so-called transgenes, researchers have succeeded in producing fish that grow considerably faster or are more resistant to diseases. Fish can also be modified to cope better with cold, which facilitates breeding in colder conditions. There are major benefits for commercial fish farming as transgenic fish are expected to deliver higher production and better yields. However, transgenic fish can also entail risks and undesirable effects on the natural environment.

More resistant to toxins

For example, transgenic fish can be more resistant to environmental toxins, which could entail the accumulation of toxins that ultimately end up in consumers. There are also misgivings that the higher level of growth hormone in the fish can affect people. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have therefore been commissioned by the EU to study the environmental effects of GMO (genetically modified organisms) within fish farming. The results of the studies show that the genetically modified fish should be treated with great care.

Simulated escapes

Sundström, PhD at the Department of Zoology, has studied transgenic salmon and rainbow trout to ascertain what ecological risks they might constitute for the natural environment. The study, which simulated escapes in a laboratory environment, shows that transgenic fish have a considerably greater effect on the natural environment than hatchery-reared non-transgenic fish when they escape. For example, genetically modified fish survive better when there is a shortage of food, and benefit more than non-transgenic fish from increasing water temperatures.

"It is probably due to the fact that genetically modified fish have a greater ability to compete and are better at converting food," says Sundström.

Natural breeds are under threat

If transgenic fish become established in natural stocks they would be able to outcompete the natural breeds. However, conducting studies in a laboratory environment that imitates nature is complicated, which makes it difficult to predict how escaped transgenic fish affect the natural environment. Sundström's conclusion is that international consensus is required before commercial farming can be permitted, and that a precautionary principle must be applied.

"One option is to farm the transgenic fish on land, which would make escape impossible. At least fertile fish should be kept in a closed system," says Sundström.

As of yet no country has permitted commercial farming of transgenic fish, but several applications for such operations are under consideration by authorities in both the USA and the EU.

More From ScienceDaily

More Plants & Animals News

Featured Research

Mar. 31, 2015 — Researchers have recorded the first direct observations of the micro-scale mechanisms behind the ability of skin to resist tearing. The results could be applied to the improvement of artificial skin, ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Soil organic matter, long thought to be a semi-permanent storehouse for ancient carbon, may be much more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought. Scientists have found that the common ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Using the assessment tool ForWarn, US Forest Service researchers can monitor the growth and development of vegetation that signals winter's end and the awakening of a new growing season. Now these ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Until now electric fences and trenches have proved to be the most effective way of protecting farms and villages from night time raids by hungry elephants. But researchers think they may have come up ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — The endangered desert pupfish has made itself at home in the harsh, hot environment of Death Valley hot springs by using a surprising evolutionary adaptation: They can go for up to five hours without ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Researchers have detected a human fingerprint deep in the Borneo rainforest in Southeast Asia. Cold winds blowing from the north carry industrial pollutants from East Asia to the equator, with ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — A team of engineers and biologists reports new progress in using computer modeling and 3D shape analysis to understand how the unique grasping tails of seahorses evolved. These prehensile tails ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — As the five-year anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig approaches, a new report looks at how twenty species of wildlife are faring in the aftermath of the ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Scientists have uncovered the earliest fossilized evidence of an insect caring for its young. The findings push back the earliest direct evidence of insect brood care by more than 50 million years, ... full story

Giant Amphibian Fossils Found in Portugal

Reuters - Light News Video Online (Mar. 31, 2015) — Scientists discover a new species of giant amphibian that was one of the largest predators on earth about 220 million year ago. Tara Cleary reports.
Video provided by Reuters

Bionic Ants Could Be Tomorrow's Factory Workers

Reuters - Innovations Video Online (Mar. 30, 2015) — Industrious 3D printed bionic ants working together could toil in the factories of the future, says German technology company Festo. The robotic insects cooperate and coordinate their actions and movements to achieve a common aim. Amy Pollock reports.
Video provided by Reuters

Related Stories

Mar. 10, 2014 — While farmed salmon are genetically different to their wild counterparts, they are just as fertile. This is important information because millions of farmed salmon escape into the wild -- posing ... full story

July 18, 2013 — The results of a major international effort to assess the status of dozens of European fish stocks find that many of those stocks in the northeast Atlantic are being fished sustainably today and ... full story

Sep. 12, 2012 — Fish populations around the world could soon be full of slow growing, unproductive 'couch potatoes' if the current levels of intensive fishing continue, according to new research. ... full story

July 13, 2011 — If genetically modified Atlantic salmon were to escape from captivity they could succeed in breeding and passing their genes into the wild, researchers have found. Their research explores the ... full story

Nov. 18, 2010 — The review process being used by the Food and Drug Administration to assess the safety of a faster-growing transgenic salmon fails to weigh the full effects of the fish's widespread production, ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.